HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1966-12-08, Page 1Ninety-third Year
Wright again heads polls Rains four inches
--,,flood threat rises weather was responsible r
Some of the poor turneut as it
rained most of the day.
Sites trouble
of Centralia
Some confusion also prevailed
as many residents were uncer-
tain of their voting places, as
two of the polls had been changed
this year. All polling places had
been listed on posters placed
in convenient places around town
for the past three weeks,
Members of council reviewed
the entire election and nomina-
tion procedure at their Monday
Meeting and have turned it over
to a committee for a further study
and recommendations,
It is expected there may be an
advance poll in future elections.
The senior members of coun-
cil were all returned by accla-
mation at the nomination. They
are: Mayor Jack D e 1 b r I dg e,
Reeve Derry Boyle and Deputy-
Reeve Mery Cudmore.
Area streams and rivers rose
to, precarious levels Wednesday,
and it was still raining heavily at
presS time.
While basements were flooded
in many communities, conserva-
tion officials were also taking
action to stop the threat of floods
in some communities.
Wednesday afternoon, work-
men 'rpm the Ausable River Con-
servation Authority started plac-
ing sand bags on the wing walls
at the dam at Exeter, Water level
had risen to just a few inches
below the walls and it was feared
that if the water went over the
top it would wash out sections of
the protective devices at the dam. TAD WRIGHT
• . . heads polls
GEORGE VRIESE JIM NEWI3Y
. . . new members of council
Field officer Terry MeCatiley
said the river was as high as he
has ever seen it since coming to
Exeter,
It was reported that In some
area rivers, trees were being
Washed away and some serious
erosion was being spotted pear bridges.
In the past week, the total pre-
cipitation has amounted to close
to four inches, This includes the
snowfall, which has now melted
and added to the water problem.
McCauley noted that area riv-
ers hadn't hit their peaks on Wed-
nesday, as this doesn't usually
happen until 24 hours after the
rain has stopped.
When that might be is anyone's
guess,
EXETER, ONTARIO, DECEMBER 8, 1966 Price Per Copy 15 Cents
With a majority in every poll
except one, Councillor Ted
Wright again led in the race for
the six =Moil posts in Exeter's
election, Monday.
It was the second time in a
row that the fieldman topped the
voting in Exeter and his margin
was even greater this year, head-
ing Joe Wooden by 106 votes.
However, Wooden's showing
Was seen as a vote of confidence
by some for the SHAHS vice-
principal who last week was ask-
ed by the board if he would be
willing to hand in his resignation.
lie polled 615 votes on the
918 ballots cast, compared to the
721 recorded by Wright.
At council session following the
election, Wooden expressed his
sincere thanks to the people of
the community for all their sup-
port "in the past couple of weeks
and particularly today".
In his bid for a council seat,
Wooden had been too shaken over
the high school board's request
to do any canvassing for votes
and there were many people who
had wondered if he was still in
the running.
placing third in the fight was
Don MacGregor, who registered
580 votes. MacGregor was beaten
in the election two years ago but
became a sitting member when
asked to fill the vacancy created
by the death of Ralph Bailey.
A new man was only four votes
behind MacGregor. George
Vriese scored 576 votes, which
was 98 more than fifth place
finisher, Ross Taylor, the senior
member of council.
Filling the final seat was Jim
Newby, another new contestant.
The local tire dealer scored 464
votes to end up 30 ahead of his
nearest competitor.
Ross Dobson, Miles Tisdale
and Gord Kirk, all new can-
didates, finished in that order.
Dobson topped one of the polls.
NEED DRAIN
Heavy rains of the week caused
considerable flooding in the dist-
rict — including the basements of
many homes.
Exeter Councillor Joe Wooden
reported he received complaints
from many residents regarding
flooded basements. He said he
didn't know whether it was any
consolation or not, but he had over
two inches of water in his own
basement.
"The flooding indicates the
need to consider a major drain
from Pryde Boulevard to the
river," he stated, noting that the
new residential area on the east
side of town was hard hit by the
heavy rain.
In addition, the water coming
from this area creates problems
further to the south in the Edward
St. area.
He said if a drain was at all
financially possible, it should be
considered by next year's coun-
cil.
,•••••••••••*0
Board rescinds suggestion
that SHDHS heads resign
FEW VOTE
Less than half of the eligible
voters turned out to the polls,
but the 46,8% was still higher
than it was two years ago. The
Following questioning from
Huron MP Robert McKinley, Can-
ada's industry minister reported
this week that the disposal of
CFB Centralia is posing a major
problem of Crown Assets Dis-
posal Corporation,
C. M. Drury made the com-
ment outside the House of Com-
mons after the speaker had ruled
that McKinley was put of order
in asking what progress was being
made towards the disposal of the
facilities.
Drury explained that the dif-
ficulty arises because Centralia
is a large area and is serviced
by central heating, sewage and
water.
This makes it difficult to break
the facilities down into smaller
portions that could be taken over
by small industries or govern-
ment departments,
He said the answer seems to be
to form a central agency of some
description to assume the re-
sponsibility for maintenance of
these services in order to make
the buildings useful in a variety
of ways.
Peter Raymond, secretary of
the Exeter Industrial Develop-
ments Ltd., said his group was
quite aware of the problem cited
by Mr. Drury.
He indicated some suggestion
had been made that local authori-
ties take over the base, but he
said this could only be done by
receiving a loan from the govern-
ment which would not have to be
paid back until disposition of the
facilities had been completed.
One thing the announcement
apparently shows: the govern-
ment is still aware of the situa-
tion and giving it some considera-
tion.
Vote drops in GB,
fisherman tops poll
For the second year in a row,
Grand Bend fisherman Howard
Green has emerged as the most
popular member of council in the
resort.
He topped this year's poll on
Monday with a total of 207 votes,
which constituted a backing of
almost two-thirds in a light vote.
Incumbent Douglas Martin was
second In the race for the four
council seats as he was picked on
190 ballots.
Third place finisher was John
Teevin s, who was making a
"comeback" after being defeated
in last year's poll. The carpenter
recorded a total of 188 votes
this year.
The final seat on council was
the situation, but that he had
talked to each member personal-
ly.
He said most of the teachers
were very concerned with the
publicity and the fact the future
of the two men involved could
be jeopardized.
Mr. Shaw also indicated the
situation involved the future of
the teaching staff as the adverse
publicity could prove a detriment
for local teachers applying for
jobs elsewhere.
He said it was his hope "things
would be rectified as soon as
possible".
Noting that teachers had been
bombarded with questions from
pupils and parents regarding the
situation, Mr. Shaw said he hoped
this would terminate. "Our
(teachers) job is to teach and
we can not comment informative-
ly on the situation as the facts
have not been presented to us,"
he stated.
best to try and solve the dif-
ficulties fairly and honestly.
"I would like parents, students
and staff to feel and believe that
I am open to discuss any educa-
tional matters," he concluded.
Mr. Wooden reported that in
his session with the board they
had made only general state-
ments about the reasons for their
original suggestion which they
said had been made "for the good
of school morale, education of the
students and harmony of t h e
teaching staff".
Although he explained he did
not wish to make further state-
ments at this time, Mr. Wooden
said he could "visualize certain
circumstances under which it
might become necessary to have
a much more detailed statement
from myself, but no purpose
would be served at this time
by such a statement".
HAROLD CAMPBELL
. . . New man in Hay
New Board of Trade head
Carf Cann, right, was elected president of the Exeter Board of
Trade at the annual meeting in the Legion Hall, Wednesday. He's
being congratulated by Iry Armstrong, retiring president.- -T-A photo
Challenger nipped
in Hay reeve's fight
How to greet
centennial?
Predict busy year
due to centennial
won by Peter DeJong, who finish-
ed with 172 votes,
The two defeated candidates
were Emerson Desjardine and
James Connelly, who recorded
totals of 145 and 101 respec-
tively. It was the first attempt
for Connelly, while Desjardine
has been on council for some
years.
Clerk Murray A. DesJardins
reported that the turnout was the
lowest since he assumed his
duties. However, he explained
that about 75% of the resident
voters turned out and the decline
was noted mostly in the lack of
out-of-town property owners.
Partially responsible for this
was the treacherous weather con-
ditions.
Of the 300 voters who cast
ballots in the election, 14 took
advantage of the advance poll
held on Saturday. Of that number
all but five were permanent resi-
dents.
The low turnout created some
odd figures in the results. While
Teevins placed third this year
with 188 votes he was defeated
last year when he scored 194.
Green's total last year had been
259.
Members of the Board of Trade
received a detailed description
of Exeter's centennial project
and some of the activities which
may be held here next year when
they met for their annual meeting
in the Legion Hall, Wednesday,
Terry McCauley, secretary of
the local centennial committee,
had detailed drawings of the
Riverview Park project, explain-
ing that much of the work had
already been completed.
Commenting on the activities
planned, he said there was plenty
to look forward to, but that it
FEDERATION IN
It was reported by both men
that they had asked the Ontario
Teachers' Federation to send a
representative to the school to
discuss the situation with them.
While they decided upon this
action on Friday, they indicated
they had no intentions of cancel-
ling the request in view of the
latest understanding bet we en
themselves and the board.
Mr. Wooden said he thought
such a meeting would "still serve
some useful purpose".
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm
going through with it," Mr. Palm-
er stated in reference to meeting
with the Federation official.
Board chairman Ken Johns has
been invited to attend the meeting
with the representative.
Bruce Shaw, the teaching staff
representative on the Federa-
tion, reported that the staff had
not met as a whole to discuss
The board at South HuronDist-
rict High School have rescinded
their action in asking Principal
Douglas Palmer and Vice-Prin-
cipal Joseph Wooden if they would
be willing to resign their posi-
tions.
This was one of the moves that
appears to have brought about a
present settlement to the ex-
plosive situation that existedfol-
lowing the board's original re-
quest.
They met with the two men for
about three hours last Thursday
and then had about another three
hours with each of the men at
later sessions this week.
The outcome of those sessions
resulted in the board issuing the
following statement to the public
on Wednesday: "We have a firm
commitment from all parties in-
volved to co-operate in solving
all the problems which initiated
the original action".
Board members indicated that
the "all parties involved" re-
ferred to themselves as well as
the two school authorities.
Members declined to make fur-
ther comment on the situation at
this particular time, although
there was a noticeable relaxed
air among some memberS follow-
ing a hectic two weeks which saw
the local situation spread across
daily newspapers throught On-
tario.
This was understandable be-
cause the situation was apparent-
ly unique in Ontario as no other
board had ever presented such a
suggestion to two senior adminis-
trators.
However, the reason for the
board instituting the action in
the first place remains a mystery
as far as the public is concerned.
Contacted after the board had
made their decision known, both
Mr. Palmer and Mr. Wooden in-
dicated they were quite prepared
to stick by their commitment
to the board to attempt to solve
the problems at the school.
"I'm very sorry the problems
that do exist were considered so
serious to warrant such a drastic
step by the board," Mr. Palmer
stated. He said he wanted to as-
sure the public he would do his
NOMINATE AGAIN
While they went to the polls
to cast ballots this week, rate-
payers in the resort will be asked
to attend a second nomination
this Monday to fill a vacancy
on the schOol board.
Don Flear was acclaimed to
office to fill one of the two
— Please turn to page 5
would have to be preceded by
much work.
"The town is worthy of the
effort we can put into it," he
concluded.
After his address, members
were shown a film depicting plans
and activities for Expo '67.
About 65 members attended
the session and elected Carf
Cann as their new president.
He succeeds Iry Armstrong.
B i 11 Huntley is first vice-
president, Bill Smith will be
second vice-president and Bill
— Please turn to page 5
Area man cuts one free
Zurich and Dashwood and to the
immediate west.
Corbett scored a majority of
183 to 39 in the three polls in
his east end territory, while
Hoffman picked up a margin of
215 to 89 in the three polls in
his neighborhood.
In the final two polls — locat-
ed north of Zurich and in the
Bluewater area there was a
difference of three votes in each
place. Each man won one of the
two as they recorded a clear split
of 91 votes each in the two polls
in "no-man's land".
Lloyd Hendrick received sup-
port from 543 of the '708 voters
to head Tinney by 71. The latter,
in turn, had 50 more than Camp-
bell's 416.
Hendrick led in five of the
polls and Tinney topped the other
three, the latter gaining his best
support from the three polls in
the eastern section of the town-
ship.
Even those who don't go in for
drinking may be hearing bells,
horns and whistles at the stroke
of midnight on January 1, 1967.
The occasion will not only mark
the start of another year, it will
be one Of the most important
years in the history of the country
— its 100th birthday.
Members of Exeter council
discussed several suggestions
for an appropriate ceremony on
New Years eve, but the final de-
cision was turned over to the cen-
tennial committee.
Terry McCauley, secretary of
the committee, met with council
to suggest that some special
events could be held, such as a
torch-light procession, a church
Service, carol sing or other ac-
tivities.
He also proposed that the town
hall clock, the fire siren, the Ca-
nadian Canners whistle and the
Trivitt Memorial church bells
be rung simultaneously to wel-
come the centennial year.
He advised that he thought
the activity would have to be
attractive enough to get people
away from private parties to at-
tend.
Councillor Joe Wooden said he
felt elaborate plans for the night
may not be worth the effort, but
suggested some activities could
be held on the Monday after New
Years.
"People are at loose ends then
and they need Some fresh air,"
he commented.
Further suggestions were that
skidoo races could be held or a
clown-type hockey game, cutter
rideS, etc.
Hay Township voters return-
ed their reeve for another term,
but they gave him a few anxious
moments in Monday's election.
John Corbett retained his seat
at the head of council as he polled
363 votes a majority of only
18 votes over a present member
of council, Joe Hoffman.
Two incumbents headed the
race for council with Lloyd Hend-
rick and John Tinney finishing
one and two in that order. A
newcomer, Harold Campbell, was
declared winner of the other seat
as he topped the only other can-
didate, Charles Burgess, by 10'7
ballots.
Deputy-Reeve Delbert Geiger
was returned by acclamation,
as were members of the school
board.
W. H, Brokenshire reported
that 708 voters went to the polls
out of a total 1,605 eligible. How-
ever, Mr. Brokenshire explained
that only half of those eligible
are resident-voters and there-
fore estimated the turnout at
between 80 and 90 percent. The
other half of the eligible voters
in the township are summer cot-
tage owners.
REGIONAL
Voting for all positions show-
ed a "regional', trend. As ex-
pected, Corbett hung up big
majorities in the east side of
the township, while Hoffman re-
ceived a major portion of his
support from the area between
Some winners
claim money
Four winners have claimed
their $5.00 each from the weekly
draws sponsored by the Retail
Merchants section of the Exeter
Board of Trade.
They are Louise Pincombe,
Roy Lamport, John Koopmans and
Lila Oke.
All are winners in the first
draw made November 26,
Six draws for $5.00 each and
one draw for $25 are made each
week from coupons deposited in
the stores by.
In addition, one $250 jackpot
will be drawn on Christmas eve,
Winners each week are an-
nounced on the special Christmas
Shopping ad in the T-A placed
by the Retail Section,
crash Four men injured in
OPP Constable Ed Wilcox in-
vestigated and estimated total
damage at about $2,500.
The accident was one of four
investigated by Constable Wilcox
in the paSt week.
On Thursday at 12:30 p.m.,
he was called to the scene of
a two-vehicle crash on the main
street in Centralia. Involved was
a car driven by Seth Winer, Ex-
eter, and a truck driven by Arthur
J. Vinneau, Wingham.
Wirier had been proceeding
north on the main street when
he was hit at the main intersec-
tion by Vinneau, who bad been
proceeding east.
Damage to the Winer car was
listed at $600, with none to the
truck,
Sponsor contest
for decorations
Owners of Exeter's three best
decorated houses will again be
presented with turkeys by coun-
cil.
The decision was made at Mon-
day's meeting and it was decided
to have the judging of the Christ-
mas decorations on December 23
from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
The matter of choosing judges
Was left with Mayor Delbridge.
Council members jokingly sug-
gested that the notice in the paper
advise home owners that council
Would not be responsible if any-
one fell off his house roof in
the process of decorating it.
about half a mile north of the
Crediton Road,
Involved were Ray Eddison
Wilhelm, RR 3 Dashwood, and
Harry Van Osch, RR 2 Crediton.
Both had been northbound on the
10th and Wilhelm was proceeding
—Please turn to page 5
hill, It was damaged to an esti-
mated $100 and the Sarnia wo-
man's car sustained damage list-
ed at $300.
There were no injuries.
On Saturday, Constable Wilcox
investigated a two-car crash on
the 10th concession of Stephen,
Bible Society
given $937
Two men were taken to London
hospital following a collision be-
tween two trucks at the inter-
section of Highway 4 and the St.
Marys Road on Tuesday morning.
Another two men were hospital-
ized in Exeter.
Due to heavy fog, visibility was
listed at about 300 feet when the
trucks collided at 7:30 a.m.
Involved was a small van driv-
en by Jack Karn, London, and a
larger delivery truck owned by
the London Free PresS and driven
by Jack Fenton, also of London.
Karri was apparently driving
north on Highway 4 and Fenton
had been westbound on the St.
Marys Road. It is believed he
Was returning to London and
missed the corner due to the
poor visibility. He makes the
run once a week.
Both Kern and Fenton Were
taken to South Huron Hospital
for observation.
The most seriously hurt were
passengers in the Kern vehicle.
They were Douglas Blair and
NOrmati MOM illan, the latter hav-
ing chest injuries,
Blair, whose leg was badly
injured, was trapped in the frOnt
seat of the vehicle for some time,
and was finally cut loose by an
area mechanic Bill Colter, 'Cred-
iton, who had a hack saw in his
car, police had called fo'r' tut-
ting torches, but the injured man
had been freed before Don Mac-
Gregor, Exeter, arrived on the
scene.
Howard Ince, treasurer for
the local branch of the Canadian
Bible Society, reports the annual
canvass is now completed with
$93'7.15 collected.
The canvass was conducted
by members of the local Society
and volunteers front the Exeter
churches.
Mr. Ince remarked that he
and his fellow executive members
are deeply appreciative of the
work done by the canvassers and
the generosity of the donors.
Rev, D. Warren is president
and Morley Hall is Secretary.
Maintenance man
loins school staff
Harold Skinner, Exeter, has
been appointed maintenance sup-
erviSor at South Htiron District
High School it was announced
this week by W. D. Burton, busi-
ness administrator.
lie SUcteetIS W. F, GrOVeS, Whe
resigned his position about three
Weeks ago.
Mr. Skinner has been employed
at CFEi Centralia. He had the
longest record of employment at
the baSe,
Four men injured in area crash
Four men were injured Tuesday morning when two trucks collided the men were riding in this panel truck and one Of them was trapped
at the intersection of highway 4 and .the St. Marys toad. Three of for 20 minutes before being out loose and taken to hospital.
INTO GARAGE
A Sarnia woman chose a rather
"convenient" place to become
involved in an accident on Friday
at 1:15 p.m. She ended up beside
the Regier garage, Mt. CarmeL
In fact, she hit the garage.
Mrs. Janet St.A rmond was
proeeeding west on the Mt. Care
mel road when her car skidded
near the garage, which is located
on the north side of the road,
She went through a lot beside
the garage, Mt a corner of the
building and then struck a parked
truck, before veering to the other
side Of the road and stopping in
front of another truck.
The truck she hit was owned
by Leslie ThompSon, RR 8 Park-